Not only did we deliver approximately $3100 worth of items to our featured shelters on Christmas Day, we were able to donate some items to 3 additional shelters as well!!

We were so grateful to our D.I.N.E. family and friends for making this possible. It is beyond anything we had expected or hoped for! Please click HERE to see a list of our supporters.

Our featured shelters in 2014 were Oswego Animal Shelter and United Friends of Homeless Animals (more about these shelters at the bottom of this post). Thank you to Carrie & Don from Oswego and Kate & Carlos from United Friends, for taking the time from your own holidays to meet with us on Christmas. And thank you Alaura for the wonderful painting that we will always treasure!

We had about $300 left over plus some donated items. Over the next few months, we delivered toys, dogwood sticks, Kong toys, peanut butter, canned dog food and leashes to 3 more organizations: Woof Over Their Heads Small Dog Sanctuary, Schenectady City Holding Facility, and Regional Animal Shelter.

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Events, Donations & Preparations

Ta Da!

On Our Way!

More About Our Featured Shelters...

OSWEGO ANIMAL SHELTER covers 8 towns in Oswego County, near Lake Ontario in New York State. With 22 dog runs, they are almost always full to capacity. As with most town or city shelters, they have a small budget that they stretch as far as they can but it can take them just so far. In 2014, they were starting to work on a number of projects including new gates on the kennel doors, new dividers between the kennels, (all of which are in very poor shape), outside runs for the so called "dangerous dogs" who were never able to go outside, and outdoor exercise pens for all the other dogs because the kennels were inside only. Despite being walked by staff and volunteers, they desperately needed a place to socialize and romp around. The budget didn't come close to meeting the needs of the animals but the dedicated staff was doing all they could, including convincing area contractors to donate time to some of these projects.

The shelter had really old, hard, plastic "beds" that were not big enough for many of their dogs, not easily sterilized, and had holes in them from the dogs chewing on them through the years. They were not exactly comfy beds except for the blankets on top.

We worked with this shelter to determine how we could help off-set costs for these major projects in a way that would directly benefit the dogs and we are very proud of what we were able to accomplish!

Photos from Oswego delivery

photo by Stephen D. Cannerelli, Syracuse.com

photo by Stephen D. Cannerelli, Syracuse.com

photo by Stephen D. Cannerelli, Syracuse.com

UNITED FRIENDS OF HOMELESS ANIMALS in Richland, NY is a small shelter that has been operating since 1975. It has 10 dog kennels. There were 8 dogs and almost 60 cats when we were there. This shelter is truly unique in that it is completely funded through a thrift store that is open 6 days a week and run by volunteers! You can read more about it HERE.

Despite having super caring and dedicated volunteers with one paid shelter manager, this shelter is showing its' age - with holes in the fences of the dog kennels and worn through floors and worn out roof. They never seem to take in enough money for these large repairs but they are trying their best. They were able to update the cat wing a while back and most of the cats are in open rooms now. But there are not many donations coming in for the dogs, especially the larger ones. The beds were a very old, hard plastic that only got them off the ground, but provided little comfort except for the blankets that they always had on top.

Thankfully, there are two outside play areas where the dogs get to spend time every day and where they can socialize with their buddies. There are also some kind-hearted volunteers who will walk the dogs, but very few chew toys for the pups when they get back inside.

Because the Christmas is Going to the Dogs program cannot donate money for major repairs, we tried to off-set costs and help make the lives of animals a little more comfortable while they were waiting for their forever homes by donating the items from the list. After getting to meet some of the "long-term" pups, it was especially heart-warming to receive follow-up photos showing them enjoying those beds!

Photos from UFHA delivery

A gift from Kate & Carlos' daughter Alaura :) She spent part of her Christmas day painting this for us!

OSWEGO, N.Y. -- An Upstate New York couple is playing Santa for dogs in need in Oswego County.

Kathleen and Ray Collar, of Glenville in Schenectady County, delivered more than $3,000 worth of toys, beds and treats for canines today to the Oswego City Animal Shelter and the United Friends of Homeless Animals shelter in Richland.

"Short of finding them their forever homes, which is what we would like the most, knowing that we've made their lives a little more comfortable while they're waiting, really means a lot," said Kathleen Collar.

The Collars decided last Christmas to not shop for each other and instead use their money to help homeless animals. This year, they also solicited the help of the community and selected two animal shelters in need.

"We raised enough to also help three additional shelters," she said.

Kathleen Collar formed D.I.N.E., Dogs in Need Everywhere, in 2004 to help serve and support rescues and shelters, but she had to dissolve the not-for-profit due to health reasons. Now Kathleen Collar is back in action and wants to make a difference on Christmas.

The donation drive is called "Christmas is Going to the Dogs" and it is an extension of the volunteer work the couple had down through D.I.N.E. over the past 10 years.

Kathleen Collar said they do it all for the homeless dogs in the spirit of Christmas.